Roy's Techblog

Picking a good bag seems to be hard to do. It’s possible I’m just fussy, but I do have some particular needs.

An ideal bag must carry:

1. a 15” or so laptop
2. a textbook or novel
3. a moleskine notebook (or two)
4. miscellaneous papers like bills, printed academic papers, a magazine, or printouts needed for working at home
5. a couple CDs or DVDs (in paper covers)
6. a few pens/pencils in an external pouch
7. some business cards
8. a power adapter
9. various cables (usb, serial, ipod adapters)
10. full sized headphones when travelling
11. an iPod 5G
12. a camera the size of a Canon G7

And it must:

1. be rain resistant
2. be padded
3. be comfortable to carry when fully loaded

And finally:

1. I’d like it not to squash my papers.

So far, the candidates that have potential bags are:

1. Crumpler
2. Tom Bihn
3. Timbuk2
4. BOOQ
5. and I had been pondering Courierware
6. and Manhattan Portage

One of the problems I have had is deciding whether I want a backpack or shoulder-bag of some form (such as a messenger bag). You’d think this would be an easy choice, but it turns out not to be.

I currently carry a Brenthaven Pro 15/17 for work, but it belongs to work, and I’m changing jobs. This bag is great, but its not quite ideal. The laptop compartment takes up a very large percent of this bag, and while the design lets you overstuff it, I find I quite often damage papers or books. There really isn’t that much space to carry papers around, although the divided paper compartment is a great thing. The top pocket on the front of it for pencils and other little things is wonderful, and the top-loading zipped up slot for the laptop is great, but I always worry that it won’t hold out in a downpour. The bottom cable compartment is also great, and the front flap with space for your miscellaneous stuff is great… But its just not quite ideal for me because things get crumpled too easily.

A friend carries around a 2-3 year old Tom Bihn Brain Bag and loves it, but I’m not sure if it fully addresses what I need. It certainly has some nice pockets and the Freudian Slip looks like it’ll help avoid crumpled papers. I can’t remember if it had a top pocket that I’ve grown to love on the Brenthaven.

I went and had a look at a Timbuk2 Classic Messenger at a local shop in both the Large and Medium sizes, to get an idea for how the bags would be in their Laptop Messenger line. The Large is frickin’ huge—perhaps too big. I’d probably damage everythig in my bag all the time. It just doesn’t have enough organizational aids. The Medium looks much better size-wise, and had a nice amount of open space… But I think I’d need both the laptop compartment and a divider. I’ve also looked at people’s photos of what they carry in their Commute at Flickr to see if I think it’d do. Sadly, I think its just a little too small.

Maybe the Super Ego is what I need?

I’ll post again when I finally make up my mind.

Update: Since originally writing this article, a friend suggested I look at Chrome as well.

Update: I finally picked the Tom Bihn Brain Bag brain bag with a Freudian Slip and a Snake Charmer (for when traveling) and an appropriately sized Horizontal Brain Cell which holds the laptop snugly and with plenty of padding. I’ve taken to using the Brain Cell to haul the laptop around the house. I’ll post a review of my bag soon.